3DPOD Episode 37: Jos Burger, Ultimaker CEO

I met Jos Burger when I was working for Shapeways years ago. He’s astute, very bright and a natural leader who later worked at Ultimaker while I was there as well. Naturally, we discussed what Burger calls “Ultimaker’s romantic period,” or the chaotic period between hobby and hyper-growth that he stepped into. We talked about going direct versus indirect for production, Ultimaker’s European loan, the private equity investment, the number of printers the firm has sold to date (over 130,000!), and the Ultimaker ecosystem. Burger tells us of future plans and the positioning of the firm. He talks of the Business Development teams’ application development, as well as training and Ultimaker Essentials. We also discuss positioning and price points. As Ultimaker moves up in the world towards corporates what does the company lose? Will they lose touch with makers, educators, and people in the developing world? Will there be fewer community improvements? Burger emphatically redoubles his support for Ultimaker’s open source roots and character and calls it essential for the firm, which may assuage many a worry. All in all, both Max and I really liked hanging out with Jos Burger and we think that you’ll enjoy this thoughtful conversation also.